As a graduate of Michigan State University, LMI’s Terry Dixon cites Spartan athletics, golf, and not least, his great family, for providing the most joy in his life. Dixon entered the office products industry in March of 2000 with no prior industry experience. He was hired as the Read More

Yes, Rick Bastinelli’s first job after graduating from college was a ski instructor. Although he concedes it was a great job, he says he realized – to his chagrin – that he needed to pursue a professional career. After what he describes as a comprehensive job search, he accepted Read More

Almost 17 years ago, John MacInnes, president of Print Audit, ran a Lotus Notes consulting company. He recalls that at the time the company’s revenues were almost entirely service-based, so he sought a product that could sell while he was sleeping. A revelation occurred when he Read More

After graduating from college and serving in the US Navy, Ron Alphin began his office technology career in 2008, selling copiers for Datamax, a Canon dealership in St. Louis, Missouri. About a year later, he transitioned into selling Managed Print Services (MPS) and Managed Read More

Cartridge World’s Global CEO, Steve Weedon, says that he began pursuing a career in emerging industries after a four-year electrical engineering apprenticeship. He was living in the United Kingdom at the time, and he notes that by the early 1970s Xerox patents on xerography were Read More

After working in the networking hardware industry, Toshiba’s Vice President of Product and Solutions Marketing Joe Contreras recalls that he decided to join the organization in 2000 because it was a great opportunity to be part of a leading company in the technology space. Read More

TriMega’s Brian Stevenson says that like many people, his introduction to the office technology industry came about by accident. He was playing fastpitch softball in New Zealand and then returned to North America to play in Toronto during the summer of 1994. “With plenty of Read More

Pete Emory, director of research and lab services, US/Asia at Buyers Laboratory LLC, recalls that his 11-year-old daughter once said to him, “Smile, Daddy. Always be happy and take it easy. Yes, this be okay.” “That is the best advice I ever got,” he says. “I’m trying to live by Read More

BEI Services VP of operations, Bud Karakey entered the office technology industry in 1992 when he was hired by ADS (Automated Dispatch Systems) Communications as their installation engineer. At that time he was tasked with integrating copier dealerships’ telephone systems to the Read More

Sharp Electronics’ senior director of software product management, Vince Jannelli, recalls the best advice he ever received: “We have two ears and one mouth, and we should use them in proportion,” he says. The emphasis on learning is not surprising considering Janneli’s Read More

Cannon IV, one of the country’s leading dealerships, was started 42 years ago by Jerry Jones’s father. In those early days the business consisted solely of selling carbon paper and typewriter ribbons out of the family garage in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones joined the business at Read More

Todd S. Johnson left the U.S. Marine Corps in 1993 to join his father, Tom Johnson, in his consulting business. He recalls that it was his father who convinced him to make that change and it was the best advice he ever received. “I was reluctant to make that decision at the time, Read More

We could cite many people who began their career in the office technology industry soon after graduating from college, but Sarah Custer, Director of Services and Solutions at Supplies Network, has them all beat. “I actually started in the industry — and Supplies Network Read More

You could say that Keith Allison’s introduction to the office technology industry was both indirect and eye-opening. Soon after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill he took a job with a CPA firm in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Looking for a roommate, one of his fraternity brothers Read More

NATIONAL Business Equipment (NATIONAL) CEO and President, Scott Mueller, points out that it was important to establish a specific culture at NATIONAL because he knew they were going to experience rapid growth. Mueller says, “The first thing I spoke to our team about was the core Read More